TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The No. 2 seeded Florida State Seminoles recorded a come-from-behind, 10-inning 2-1 victory over 3rd-seeded North Carolina in the second game of the 1999 Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament this evening at the FSU Softball Complex. FSU improves to 38-25-1 while UNC falls to 40-21 on the year.

North Carolina catcher Natalie Anter blasted a solo home run over the left field fence in the second inning to give the Tar Heels a 1-0 lead which would last until the bottom of the seventh inning. In the bottom of the seventh, with two out and two strikes, FSU’s Danielle Cox hit a shot to right field which resulted in an in-the-park home run. There was a play at the plate, but Cox’s speed brought her home safely and the game went into extra innings. Cox, who went 4-for-5, also scored the winning run after leading off the 10th inning with another blast to right field. This time, the ball hit off the wall and Cox was halted at third base. She would score on Kimmy Carter’s one-out sacrifice fly to right field.

“I think Danielle (Cox) did the number for us tonight and kept us alive in this tournament,” FSU Head Coach Dr. JoAnne Graf said. “With two out, they (UNC) pulled the outfield in and Danielle pulled the ball. I couldn’t have stopped her (at third base) I don’t think if I tried.”

Both squads had plenty of opportunities to score during the contest as UNC stranded 10 players and FSU left eight on the bases. Both defenses were solid as was the pitching for both teams. UNC’s Radara McHugh (26-14) went the distance and recorded five strikeouts and walked just one while FSU starter Stacy Venable pitched 8 and 1/3 innings, recorded eight strikeouts and allowed just four Tar Heel hits. FSU reliever Leslie Malerich earned the victory and improved to 11-8.

“It was a well-played game by both teams,” UNC Head Coach Donna Papa said. “FSU made a great comeback. It was a tough loss to take — real tough, but we didn’t take advantage of our opportunities at the plate and we left 10 players on base.”

North Carolina will face Georgia Tech in the tournament’s first elimination game at 3 p.m. tomorrow, while FSU will meet the winner of Game 3 between Virginia and Maryland at 5 p.m.